Notes / Commercial Description:
Scratch #58 is collaboration between Tröegs brewers along with Troy Gadbury and Brad Moyer, winners of a homebrew contest sponsored by Al’s of Hampden. This Triple Mango IPA is bold, brazen and over-the-top. Unfiltered and highly-carbonated (for killer hop burps), Scratch 58 measures in at 125 IBU’s and 10.8% ABV. With a spicy mango nose and an intense overripe grapefruit flavor, we recommend this beer as the grand finale to your day as it overwhelms even the most-hoppy beers.

User Reviews

Reviewing the Scratch Beer #98: Triple Mango IPA from Tröegs Brewing Company out of Hershey, Pennsylvania. Yes, they have stuff other than chocolate there.

Score: 93

July 2013 vintage bottle served in a Perennial snifter and enjoyed on 08/06/13.

Appearance: Clearly unfiltered. Pours a pulpy, hazy mango color with a darker center. Pours about a finger of orangish-white head that settles to a ring around the glass. Good lacing, good retention. 4/5

Smell: Huge notes of mango and pineapple, some peach and resinous hops as well. A little pine and floral character too. Very juicy smelling. 4.25/5

Taste: Bitter mangoes, pineapple, orange rind and piney hops. Has a nice bitter bite to it upfront that mellows out, but lingers towards the finish. This brew has a juicy tropical citrus backbone with a little sweetness that imparts a little balance, but this is a very bitter-leaning IPA with less tropical citrus sweetness than a lot of juicy IPA have. The bitterness layers nicely on the center of the tongue. No booziness to speak of; you would never guess the ABV was in the double digits. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-full bodied, low carbonation. This is one of the more viscous IPA that I have had to date. Bitterness lays on the tongue nicely. 4.5/5

Overall: Quite an excellent IPA. Very bitter for the amount of tropical citrus present. I think it drinks nice and easy, though only those who love the taste of bitter hops are likely to concur. Either way, you would never guess the ABV.

T: Up front, some earthy but mostly mango and citrus. It's not as "hoppy" as I was hoping but certainly fruity. The alcohol does come up at you as you let it warm. The finish leaves you with a little burn down the throat.

I actually got this beer by accident at the Troegs brewery. I thought I was buying the triple Golden Ale and discovered I had been poured this instead.
Upon smelling the beer I discovered the mistake. Intense citrusy hops greeted my palate. I definitely get the mango/tropical fruit in the aroma.
It pours an opaque dark orange color with nice lacing.
The taste is big hop flavor with a little citrus and tropical mango which ends with some alcohol bite to remind you how strong this brew is. Definitely not a session beer. It's probably a beer I would order one pint of and be done with for the night.
Pretty decent brew, if you're looking for a flavorful Triple IPA then I suggest trying this one. It's not for the faint of heart though. It's a big one.

Thanks to robieobie1 for this awesome extra, sounds delicious. It plumps out of the bottle looking thick, cloudy, almost-syrupy even, mango-colored (go figure) and pretty much as opaque as it gets. It looks much more like full-on mango juice than actual beer. The soapy white head is barely noticed as it fades within seconds. I actually kind of dig the look, but by "beer" standards, it could use a little work.

Grassy mangoes come to mind as I lean in for a whiff. Juicy-ass mangoes with a light brushing of grassy hops. Very sweet, very thick, and very juicy with even a touch of tartness in the back end. So not only does it look like mango juice, it smells like it, too. Pungent mangoes and grassy hops - that'll do! Some light alcohol becomes noticeable with warmth - not surprising, given the ABV.

Wow, what a huge mouth feel! Heavy, thick, and sticky as they come - chalk up another check mark in the "mango juice" column! At this point, I'm beginning to wonder if this is beer, or just alcoholic mango juice! The mango flavors are so fresh and pure; sweet, succulent mangoes crowd each and every sip, accompanied by a warming alcoholic presence. Don't let the relatively light color of the beer fool you - it's huge.

Big-time sweet mangoes, almost to a certain degree of tartness, finish things out and leave your mouth feeling like you just chugged a gallon of mango juice. Aside from some light grass here, or faint bready malt there, this beer is nothing but mango, mango, mango - all day, in your face. It's a big goddamn beer, and I challenge anybody who thinks fruity beers are weak to try and chug this shit. It's cumbersome when gulped, but damn good to sip in small doses.

Thanks again to robieobie1 for this one. It didn't quite turn out like I expected, though it was a pretty good evening sipper either way. Like an adults only version of Minute Maid's mango juice; have a glass of this before supper and you'll off to bed in no time. A sweet and savory motherfucker, no doubt, but not in your typical "big-sweet-beer" kind of way.

Missed out on a case given how quickly it sold out, but thanks to a friend I got my hand on the bottle...

A - Just the slightest of fizzy off-white bone colored head that dissipates very quickly... The limited retention gives way to an ultra thin slightly scattered veil of lacing with a thin collar... The color is that of a deep rich ripened peach... A distinctive and unexpected haziness lingers throughout... Only a limited bit of light leaks in around the edges of the glass... 100% still with no discernible carbonation... Looks thick and chewy... The appearance has an overall "homebrew" quality about it...

S - A sweet fruity mix of mango, tangerine and peach is first the greet the senses... There is a slight layer of rather pedestrian hoppiness... Perhaps even an unexpected crisp wheat component... Overall, this aroma is much sweeter and much less hoppy than I would have expected...

T - Boom - The hops that were oddly missing on the nose are blistering the tongue from first sip... They are an overly assertive mix of pine and earthiness... The sweet fruity goodness alluded to by the nose takes a distant backseat - there is just the slightest presence at the start... There is a bit of an alcohol induced burn on the finish...

M - Full bodied... Thick, chewy and even teetering on sludgy... An unexpected carbonated bite... The finish is equal parts dry and chalky... Definitely a bit rough around the edges...

D - To be honest, I had rather high expectations for this one but it served to be a bit of a let down... I'm quite happy I tried, but I'm not sure this is something I would indulge in on a regular basis... An over the top hop bomb with no balance that lacks in terms of overall depth and complexity...

A- poured a cloudy deep orange with a lot of haze, no light got through this one!

S- Can definitely smell the mango, I said it smelt tropical. Can definitely smell how sweet this is going to taste.

T- Wow, sweetness is full force as it hits, equal to the force of fruitiness. After the rest of my senses come to, i can taste the alcohol backbone to this brew.

M- This beer leaves a thick heavy feeling. My mouth feels sticky.

O- I had heard about this brew for awhile and I had to grab it when I visited Hershey. I am real glad I did. It definitely has its ups and downs but I enjoyed every sip I took. I didn't like the sticky feeling I got between sips. But really enjoyed the flavor smell and complexity(even if I couldn't figure out all of its depth!) if this were bottled I would enjoy buying it here and there. If you can, grab it.

A - Very opaque, cloudy apricot/peach looking brew. Very cloudy, bit of white head. Does look like Heady Topper a bit. Good sign!

S - Bitter bitter hop aroma. A bit of mango fruitiness, but not much. A bit piney and earthy presence.

T - Intense bitter hop bite up front. A bit spicy but it blends well with the bitterness. The mango flavor is on the backend of this, which adds a pleasant layer of sweetness. This thing is a true "palate wrecker". Surprisingly this ends on the bready side, somehow.

M - Medium to full bodies with a mid level of carbonation. There's heat in here from the booze no doubt. My teeth feel caked in lupulins. I mean this is intense.

O - Probably the most bitter beer I've ever had. One of for sure. If they kicked the IBU's down a little you could probably taste the mango more. In its current state it probably doesn't matter how much mango is here. An experience for sure.

A - Pours an opaque tan/orange color with an very thin layer of white creamy foam. In all actuality, it looks more like mango juice than beer, a homebrew that took forever to chill with no clarifiers, or a darker wheat beer with all the sediment roused.

T - Follows the nose with heavy, pithy mango and citrus, light peaches, grapefruit rinds, and caramel biscuity/bready malt, and ends with a spicy, peppery, and assertive tropical bitterness the lingers. There's also a phenolic presence that's just enough to be annoying.

M - Very thick and full bodied with creamy, gentle carbonation. The intense spiciness creates a sensation of more carbonation than what is actually present.

O - Really intense spicy bitter finish which is awesome but I'm on the fence with this beer. The appearance is definitely unique and Heady Topper's evil ugly step sibling was just released from the closet. Love the super spicy bitterness, on the fence with the mango, and totally turned off by the appearance. The booze level will certainly be a draw, the Scratch series is a great experimental line of beers with winners and losers
and a fist pump for us locals to be lucky enough to try these (and to Troegs for releasing these to the public) - IMO, this one should stay a scratch beer.

Scratch Beer #98 (so I guess that makes this the second Mango IPA batch of the Scratch series).

Poured an opaque peach-amber color with an eggshell head that retained well. Juicy mango aroma, citrus, biscuity malt sweetness. Flavors of mango pulp, rind, citrus pith, lasting hop bitterness (not too intense), biscuity pale malts; there was a bit of solvent-like alcohol in the distance, but nothing really offensive, and for a 10+% ABV beer, it was no big deal. Medium body, chewy, but still refreshing and enjoyable.

A-Pours like a bellini. Peach juice. So opaque its ridiculous. Nearly zero head. I know this one is going to be a wacky one.

S-Mango and peach notes are so deep and concentrated. This just smells bitter. Booze pops up a bit. Pine sap too. Grapefruit juice of course.

T-Tastes like Sunny D made a DIPA. Mango/peach/grapefruit juice from a fruit juicer. Spiteful bitterness. Booze too. Very bold in all directions of flavor.

M-Soft carbonation. Screaming bitterness. Grapefruit gravy.

O/D-I can see why this beer would be polarizing. I absolutely loved it. Just a sticky blast of hop juice. It was easily the most eye opening brew of ACBF for me. Very cool. This batch was labeled 12% ABV.

App- A darker side of orange mixed in with some yellows and golds. Had a nice fluffy white head and didnt leave a lot of cling.

Smell- Big aromatics on this one. Big citrus notes with some bitter and a lot of Mango's behind it. Had a soft earthy note as well.

Taste- It had faded a bit and I expected that going from keg to growler and then across the US but still had a pretty good layer of flavor. The citrus comes in 1st with some good malty backbone and then a medium bitter. The ABV is hidden pretty well on this one.

Mouth- A full medium body with a medium high carbonation. Left some residual fruit and hoppy & malt flavors.

Drink- Pretty tasty of a beer. Slightly faded but still good none the less. I liked it but just like Arck angel a bit more.

A - The body was very dense and cloudy...it had a glowing, burnt orange characteristic to it...the head stood two fingers tall upon pouring, but the white head faded quickly to just a bubbly ring

S - Pretty overpowering with a lot of citrus and alcohol...the mangoes are light in aroma but they do pair with grapefruit and orange aromas...the fruit is very fleshy

T - This one is quite bitter...the bitterness and alcohol presence really cover up the full fruit flavors...they are there but not as strong and juicy as they could be...you can pick up some of the fleshiness of the fruit, but to pinpoint the actual flavor is pretty tough...it finishes bitter with a trace of warm alcohol

M - Medium bodied...some thickness to it...syrupy, oily, lots of bitterness...warm alcohol burn...the best part of this beer

O - I was really looking forward to trying this one, but it came up short in my expectations...the fruit was never given a full chance on showing it's characteristics...there is a pronounced bitterness and alcohol presence that take over the whole beer

Pours a very hazy golden-orange color with a short white head and a bit of lacing. The nose carries a good dose of mango and some faint tropical and citrus hops. The flavor is a bit odd. There's mango and hops, but an add sweetness and bitterness pervades the brew, and not in a good and hoppy sort of way. Medium body with a lot of extra depth. Not crisp and dry, as a hoppy beer should be. Just okay.

The beer appears very hazy and orange colored with a quarter inch of sticky off white head. The aroma is quite nice - easily the best aspect of the beer. Tropical fruits, hops, light pine. The taste doesn't live up to the promise of the scent, but still, this is a good beer. A lot of bitterness in the finish with some dryness. Hard to believe this is nearly 11% abv. Overall, a solid IPA. I would have this again.

I had this on-tap the other day at the Troegs brewery. Served in a snifter.

Appearance: Pours a very, very cloudy amber color with a finger of off white head that fades to a ring around the edge of the glass with a small layer in the middle.

Smell: Light and sweet malt with some citrus hops and mango. I'm picking up more malt than I would have guessed, but it all works quite nicely.

Taste: Light and sweet up front with citrus peel hop bitterness building towards the finish. The finish is quite bitter with a strong presence from the mango. I would have liked the bitterness to be a bit smoother and less grating.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a hint of chalkiness. The carbonation is smooth and tingly with a dry finish.

Overall: The mango mixed very well with the rest of the flavors. This isn't a perfect beer, but I enjoyed it. I know the style is harsh, but this one could have backed off just a tad and it wouldn't have hurt anything.

On tap in the Troegs tasting room, served in a snifter. The brew appears a very clouded amber to brown. Very muddy, it looks almost like fresh cider. A tan cap fades fairly fast leaving a webby pattern of lace. A swirl revives a few bubbles.

The smell is juicy with a combination of the mango and hops. Lots of fruity accent with a solid inclusion of alcohol. A bit of citrus character and earthy notes bring out a bit of catty quality. A toasty grain character evolves with a hint of accenting sweetness as the brew warms up.

The taste is toasty with grain and fruity with mango. Hops are present with a contrasting catty and herbal flavor. This brew is quite pitted and pulpy with a lasting oily rind bitterness. The bitterness is very bold with a grassy and dank aftertaste. As the brew warms up, the alcohol gets fusel in nature.

This is a full bodied brew with moderate carbonation. A bold sipper and worth a try but I had a hard time with this about half way through. It becomes quite taxing on the palate. The fruit to rind and oily bitterness coupled with the bold alcohol makes this one a little rough going down as it warms up. I tip my hat to Brad, Troy, Troegs and Al for seeing this contest go full circle. I had the pleasure of trying all 3 iterations of this brew and the original homebrew one was my favorite followed by Troegs and Al's. All 3 are from the same recipe and drastically different and unique in their own way.

Pours an opaque, dark mango orange, cream sickle color with a wispy dark cream head. Fades to a thin ring of bubbles with some clear legs. Citra like hops and mango fruit on the nose with no trace of alcohol or malt. Some lingering pine in the finish, but tropical fruitiness dominates the nose. Flavor is a sweet and fruity blend of mango, vanilla, pineapple and grapefruit with a mild alcohol warming finish and resiny bitter hops Thick, chewy body with smooth and light carbonation. Not particularly easy drinking or balanced but the mango adds a nice smoothness to this otherwise pummeling DIPA.

Had on tap at Pliny the Younger event. Poured in a 9 oz. snifter, has a thin head and us completeley opaque. Tha mango in suspension is unreal. Nose is huge hops and mango. Taste is a lovely too. Taste is sublime with a lush citrus, hops, mango thing going on. Mouth is smooth as silk. Overall a tremendous beer.